Contact Dickens open call print exhibition winners announced
Dickens open call print exhibition winners announced
The winners of the Dickens 150 print exhibition have been announced.
The competition invited printmakers from across Medway and beyond to create special Dickens themed prints for a commemorative exhibition at Rochester Art Gallery to celebrate Dickens 150.
The project is the flagship event of the popular Medway Print Festival, now in its fifth year, which was poised to offer 47 events across 15 Medway venues this June before lockdown forced the team to take the festival online.
Although the gallery exhibition has been postponed the winners have been announced following a week of virtual celebrations to mark 150 years since the death of Charles Dickens.
The winning prints were created by Neil Mattingly, Gloria Holden, Adam Hanson, Heather Haythornthwaite, Paul Jerome and Matilda Flood.
A panel of expert judges had an extremely difficult task selecting and scoring all 100 exhibition entries and they were very impressed by the high standard of works submitted, the range of print techniques used and the ideas and varying approaches to the themes. All the work submitted will feature in the much awaited ‘Last Dream of my Soul’ exhibition at the gallery which is currently being rescheduled. The winners each receive a £100 prize.
In the meantime Medway Print Festival #mpf20lockdown is offering a packed online programme thanks to support from Medway Council. Talented Medway artists and the MPF team have been busy creating video demos, features and conversations encompassing all things print.
There is something for everyone, from printing with kitchen cupboard items and family activities, to discussions with artists, features on makers, a guide to a host of print techniques and a look at forthcoming and past print shows including entries to the Dickens 150 Print Open Call.
Cllr Howard Doe, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Community Services, said: “In these unusual times it’s very important that we find innovative ways to bring communities together and I am pleased that a virtual Medway Print Festival has been able to go ahead. Thank you to all of Medway’s creatives for rising to the challenge and I would encourage residents of all ages to visit www.medwayprintfestival.com to find out more information and take part in the festival. Congratulations to all of the open call winners, and everyone who took part in the competition and I am pleased that the standard of entries was very high. I look forward to seeing the work on display once the exhibition has been rescheduled.”
Sussex Day with a difference
While communities across West Sussex won’t be celebrating Sussex Day in the usual way this year, there are still some ways you can celebrate our beautiful county.
Sussex Day falls on 16 June – this date was chosen because it is St Richard’s Day, which marks the life of St Richard who was Bishop of Chichester from 1245 until his death in 1253.
Leader of West Sussex County Council, Paul Marshall, said: “West Sussex is a wonderful county, full of rich heritage and history together with modern attractions, places to visit and many, many local businesses. These are strange and unprecedented times with the coronavirus outbreak, but as a county council we are doing all we can to ensure we bounce back and thrive again as we emerge from the outbreak.
“We would normally encourage local communities to celebrate Sussex Day with local events, but it has not been possible to organise public events this year due to the outbreak. The Sussex Day flag is flying on many public buildings and we encourage residents to celebrate Sussex Day from home or safely outside today.
“Businesses and attractions are starting to open their doors again as coronavirus restrictions are eased, so let’s all do our bit and support our local West Sussex businesses to help them through these very difficult times.”
The West Sussex Record Office together with Screen Archive South East has also chosen Sussex Day to launch the first in a series of videos delving into the history of the county and giving a unique view into how people lived.
The multi-media mix of films, photographs, blogs, posters, folk songs, saucy postcards and rare documents have been combined into a series of 10 films. Each new episode will be available every Tuesday from 12 noon, with the last film being uploaded on Tuesday 18 August. Watch them via the Record Office’s ‘West Sussex unwrapped’ blog.
To find out more about Sussex Day, visit the County Council website at www.westsussex.gov.uk and search ‘Sussex Day’.
